News

In an aggressive move into the used audio equipment market, New York retailer Harvey Electronics announced last week that the company will begin to sell used audio products and special purchases of new merchandise on eBay, an online auction site, beginning June 1, 1999. The company also recently announced that it will sell merchandise through other website partnerships.

Step all the way back to issue number one of Stereophile, in which Lucius Wordburger proffers some sage advice on How to Write an Ad. Learn about The Endorsement (hint: don't use Fidel Castro), The Calculated Omission, and The Junk Product.

Cambridge, England's Meridian Ltd. has been making digital active (or self-powered) loudspeakers since 1990. Regarded as the best among the very few companies to offer such a product, Meridian has taken the concept to a new level by introducing three DSP-series loudspeakers with 24-bit/96kHz capability: the DSP6000, DSP5500, and DSP5000---all bearing the 96/24 suffix to distinguish them from their lower-resolution predecessors. Meridian introduced two 96kHz-capable subwoofers, the DSW1500 and DSW2500, at the 1999 Consumer Electronics Show.

If you can't beat 'em, join 'em. Two music-industry giants---Bertelsmann Music Group and Seagram Ltd.'s Universal Music---have agreed to pool their resources in a joint Internet venture. GetMusic, as the website will be known, will sell compact discs in direct competition against traditional retailers, other Internet music services, and mail-order music clubs.

A surreal event took place at the 1991 Audio Engineering Society Convention when loudspeaker cables were put on the witness stand. Robert Harley details the amazing event as it unfolded, along with many unexpected twists and turns, in "Audio McCarthyism."

Stereophile magazine is pleased to announce that senior contributing editor Jonathan Scull has joined its full-time staff as senior editor. As of April 19, 1999, he will be based at parent company Emap Petersen's office on lower Fifth Avenue in Manhattan's Flatiron district.

Last week saw a flurry of announcements in the online audio and video streaming business, capped off by Yahoo!'s acquisition of Broadcast.com. Yahoo! says it has signed a definitive agreement with Broadcast.com whereby Yahoo! will issue 0.7722 of a share of Yahoo! common stock for each share of Broadcast.com common stock. In addition, all outstanding options of Broadcast.com will be converted into Yahoo! options. The acquisition is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 1999 and is valued at around $5.7 billion, including $4.8 billion in Broadcast.com common stock and $900 million in stock options.